Paper dispenser



Jam 14p E93., F, L BROEREN 2,027,671

PAPER DISPENSER Filed Oct. 1, 1934 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 14, 1936; F 1BROEREN 2,027,671

' PAPER DISPENSER Filed Oct. l, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JW ff ggf ff www EPatented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITEDI STZiTI-.ZSv PAT-ENT OFFICE PAPERDISPENSER Frank L. Broeren, Menasha, Wis., a'sslgnor to Marathon PaperMills Company, Rothschild,

Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin application october` 1, 1934, serialNo. uazs `4 claims. (ci. 31e-se) The dispenser of the present inventionis designed particularly for use in the dispensing of interleaved foldedwaxed sheets which by reason of their smooth surface must be rmly andevenly retained in stacked formation -during the disis from the base ofthe lim teract any tendency pensing operations, since they -do not tendto frictionally adhere to one another, but develop a tendency to slip/orslide, which must be overcome in order to prevent displacementn Themechanism of the present invention therefore makes provision for theconnement and retention of thestacked sheets during all stages inthedispensing operation, and also makes provision for progressivelyincreasing the distance stack to the point of application for thefeeding pressure concurrently with the depletion ci the stack, so thatas ih e staclr is depleted the feeding pressure will be applied at theproper point to most advantageously countoward displacement ci thesheets until the last sheet has. been withdrawn. Further objects anddetails of the invention will appear from. the. description-themed inconjur1c tion with the accompanying drawings, whereinf-w Figure l is aperspective View ci a dispenser embodying the features oi the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, vertical section taken on line 2 of i; v

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the rear face oi to the follower platetaken on line t of Fig., 2;;

. Fig. 'l is a sectional elevation showing a modiied form of followerplate; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on reduced scale taken on line 5 of Fig. zThe embodiment illustrated comprises a metal .box or cabinet lll havinga cover il hinged to the upper edge of the rear wall l2 by means of apintle it.. The pintle is located inside 'of the rear upper corner ofthe cabinet so that the rear wall 4o I2 will present an even oruninterrupted surface for attachment to a wall or'the like, or for closecontact with a wall in cases where the cabinet is supported upon a tableor counter adjacent to the wall or other vertical surface.

. 4d The cabinet further comprises end walls ld and lli, a base orbottom wall lli, and a front panel il. As shown, the bottom wall isformed integrally with the rear wall l2, and the end. walls l and lo areformed integrally with the 6o front panel, although variations in theconstruc1 tion oi the cabinet are contemplated.

The front panel ll is provided in its center with a longitudinallyextending narrow slot it, which at each end merges into a notch i9 inthe proxi= as mate end wall ior the purpose of permitting the insertionof a knife or other bladelike member behind the free flap of theoutermost folded sheet for the purpose of initially withdrawing the samethrough the dispensing slot I8.

Inside of the front panel are located upper and lower bearing platesouter edge is' ing flange 2 l 2o, each of which at its provided with aforwardly extend- The bearing plates extend obliquely forwardly towardthe dispensing slot, and the inner edges of the respective plates arerearwardly bent to each afford a member 2i, the inner V-shaped bearingedge 23 of which is reversely turned to afford a lip 2i, whicharrangement provides a flaredor throated outlet con verging toward thedispensing slot lli.. This arrangement also affords a generalconvergence tcward the slot which has the eect of bowing forwardly theforemost sheets toward the slot and loosening and separating them fromthe main body of the stack in preparation for withdrawal, while theconfiguration oi the bearing plates Zll'is such as center region theridges of duces surface combines with the to aiord contactwith the ofthe foremost sheet only along the bearing members 22 which re-= frictionto a minimum and which loosening oi'v the foremost sheets incident totheir bowing forward to per mit easy withdrawal the slot.

of the foremost sheet from provided with inner which stand in spacedrelation to one another, and each of said members has ford a flange itsinner edge downturned to ai 2t provided lwith a longitudinally il, whichslots are adapted ends of a pintle 2&3 carried by tongues 2li dependingfrom a follower plate it., the center portion of which is bent forwardlyto afford a foot 3i, which underlies the rearmost ofthe stack ofinterfolded sheets S and serves to prevent any oi the sheets frombecoming dislodged and slipping under the lower edge of the followerplate. The foot 3l lies ush with the surfaces o the platform members 25,so that the lower edges of 4stack are evenly supported across the baseof the stach.

the folded sheets comprising the The upper edge 32 of the follower plate3d is rearwardly fiared Lto assist in the introduction of a. stackl ofsheets, and the vided on its rear face follower plate isproequidistantly from its vertical center with vertically extendingflanges 3i a pintle plate 36, the

slots 38 for the reception of rear end of which is pivoted on a its?rear wall of the cabinet near the upper edgel thereof.

The length of the link plate in relation to the follower plate is suchthat when the follower plate is completely retracted the pintle on thelink plate will engage the slots 34 near the lower ends thereof and thusapply feeding pressure near the base of the follower plate, which-pointof application is desirable at this stage in overcoming.

the friction or the base of the entire stack 'of sheets which must becontinuously fed forward as the withdrawal of successive sheetscontinues.

i-Hovvever-,v asthe stack becomes vely re` duced and depleted, theforward advancement of thefollower plate will progressively lift thepoint Iof application for the feeding pressure, so that ultimately thefeeding pressure will be exerted above the center of the follower plate,This progressive variation in the point of application of the pressure,commensurate with the reduction in the thickness of the stack, serves tohold the follower plate in substantially vertical relation during allstages of the feeding operation, so that the feeding will progressuniformly irrespective of the dimensions of the stack.

It will be understood that the stack S consis of folded and interleavedsheets of waxed paper whose free forward edges are alternately prelsented upwardly and downwardly in conformity with well understoodpractice, and as the outermost sheet is withdrawn there will be atendency i to displace the adjacent'sheets either upwardly ordownwardly, as the case' may be, which tendency toward downwarddisplacement is prevented by the contact of the base of the stack withthe platform members 25, while alike tendency towardupward displacementis prevented by inwardly extending fingers 43 which are located inposition to overlie the outermost folded 'sheets whichare subject tothis displacing tendency.

In order to permit inspection of the interior of the cabinet, the sidewalls thereof are provided with slots 44 extending toward the forwardedges The above described arrangement of the follower plateandassociated parts is peculiarly fitted to the feeding of stackedsheets of waxed pivoted on a pintle 41 at the lower rear corner of thecabinet and urged forwardly by a coil spring 48. Ihe follower plateoperates in conjunction with a backing plate 49 which is provided with aforwardly extending foot 50 which underlies and supports the rearmostsheets in the stack. 'I'he upper edge 5| of the backing plate is bentforwardly to bear against the upper margin of the follower plate, andthe side edges of the backing plate are provided with rearwardly turnedflanges 52 for purposes of reinforcement.

The center of the follower plate is provided with a cut-out or recess53, the side edges being provided with flanges 54, which arrangement af-,fords clearance for theswingingmovements of the link plate 4Q whichrides upon av bead 5l formed across the base of the recess 53. In this-lnstance,

sheets of the stack are supported and fed forward by the conjoint actionof the follower plate and backing plate.

The follower plate is freely mounted upon the free end of. the linkplate 46 but is held against rearward deectionby contact of the upperedge 5| of thebacking plate, which plate will be held substantiallyvertical by the engagement of the foot 50 with the base of the stack.'I'his modication, althoughit does not' possess all of the. ad-

vantages of the mechanism first described, may, nevertheless, be usedvwith satisfactory results .under ordinary circumstances.

Although the invention is primarily designed to meet the specialrequirements involved in the f even and uniform feeding of waxed paperwrapping sheets in interleaved relation to one another in a stack,nevertheless, the mechanism is well adapted to the feeding of sheets ofordinary unwaxed paper, which may be used either as wrappers or asnapkins, towels, toilet sheets or the like.

I claim: v

1. A dispenser for folded sheets, comprising a container having a wallprovided with an elon-L gated slot for the withdrawal of the sheets, afollower plate bearing against the rear of the stack of sheets, aswinging link member pivoted at its rear end to the dispenser at a pointvertically olfset with respect to the center of the vertical axis of thefollower plate and on an axis parallel with the major axis of the slot,a member on the follower plate affording sliding engagement for the freeend of the link member, spring means for urging vthe link member forwardto advance the" follower plate and bow the sheets forwardly toward theslot, platform members above the base of the container and in spacedrelation to one another to afford a center space and-having the opposededges of the platform members down# turned to provide flanges havingguide slots therein, a member downwardly extending from the base of thefollower. plate into said center space and a pintle having its endslaterally projecting from said downwardly extending mem-" ber into saidguide slots to afford a guide lower end of the follower plate.

2. A dispenser for folded sheets, comprising a container having a wallprovided with an elongated slot for the withdrawal of the sheets, afollower plate bearing against the rear of vthe stack of sheets, aswinging link member pivoted at its rear end to the dispenser at a pointvertically ofl'set with respect to the center of the vertical axis ofthe follower'plate and on an axis parallel with the major axis of theslot, a member on the follower plate affording sliding engagement forthe free end spring means for urging the link member forward to advancethe follower plate and bow the sheets forwardly toward the slot,platform members above the base of the container and in spaced relationto one another to afford a center space and having the opposed edges of'the platform for the members downturned to provide anges havingv asindicated in dotted lines, the folded of the link member,-

de slots therein, a member dowardly ern tending from the base oi thefollower plate into said center space and a pintle having its ends lateraily projecting from said downwardly extending member into said guideslots to ail'ord a guide for the lower end oi the follower plate, and aloot on the lower edge of the follower plate being ush with the uppersurfaces of the platform members and in position to underlie the loweredges of the rearmost sheets.

3. A dispenser for folded sheets, comprising a container having a wallprovided with an elongated slot for the withdrawal of the sheets, aiollower plate bearing against the rear of the stack of sheets, meansfor advancing the follower plate, supporting means for the lower edgesoi the sheets, said means having an opening formed therein and havingguide members formed along the edges of said opening below the surfaceof the supporting means, a member projecting downwardly from the loweredge of the follower plate and into said opening and having meansengaging the guide members for guiding the lower edge oi the followerplate from points below the level or the supporting means for thesheets, and a toot on-the lower edge oi the follower plate being ushwith the upper surfaces of the supporting means and in position tounderlie the lower edges of the rearmost sheets.

fl.. A dispenser lor folded sheets, comprising a container having afront wall provided with a dispensing vslot extending medially thereof,said wall being provided on its inner side with obliquely disposedplates affording bearing surfaces on opposite sides of the slot anddisposed in generally convergent relation toward the edges ci the slot,each of said plates at a point adjacent to the slot being reversely bentand then forwardly and obliquely bent to aord an inwardly extendingridge on each side ot the slot and a throated entrance converging to theedges of the slot, said ridges in conjunction with the outermostsurfaces of said plates aording reduced areas oi contact for theforemost sheet oi a stack and serving to bow the stack outwardly in itscenter toward the slot, and means for applying feeding pressure to therear of the stack to bow the same outwardly.

f L. BROEN.

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